Marie Hecart and Oceane du Nantuel (Diamant de Semilly x Quidam de Revel). Photo © www.sportfot.com.
Wellington, FL – January 22, 2012 – The second week of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival came to a close today, and competition in the International Arena was fierce with the $25,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic. Marie Hecart (FRA) was the fastest clear round in the jump-off on Ecurie Michel Hecart’s Oceane de Nantuel. Second place went to last week’s 1.50m winners, Nick Skelton (GBR) and Beverley Widdowson’s Unique. Yann Candele (CAN) and Lansdowne, owned by Susan Grange, were third.
The second week of the FTI WEF is sponsored by Wellington Equestrian Realty. The third week, sponsored by Horseware Ireland, runs from January 25-29. The 2012 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival has 12 weeks of competition that conclude on April 1, 2012, and they will be awarding more than $6 million in prize money through the circuit.
Today’s class was the second in the in the Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Series. The Series returns this year with the $50,000 Leading Horse/Rider Combination Award, which gives bonus money to the top three horse/rider combinations in the series.
Luc Musette of Belgium designed the course for today’s class. There were 38 entries in the class, and nine were clear into the jump-off. As the second pair into the ring for the jump-off, Hecart and Oceane de Nantuel set the winning time at 37.552 seconds and couldn’t be beat.
“I went fast 1-2-3, but then I added a stride to the combination,” Hecart said of her jump-off ride. “I thought that I would not win because I added and everybody went fast. The end was fast too, but the combination wasn’t fast at all. I was a little bit right, left and I waited a bit. It worked this time.”
Skelton and Unique made a great bid for the win but were just 5/10ths of a second slower in 38.025 seconds. Candele and Lansdowne posted a time of 39.783 seconds for third place. Laura Kraut (USA) rode Woodstock O, owned by Joan Kalman, to fourth place in 40.147 seconds. Riding Sinead and Oonagh Kennedy’s KEC Alligator Alley, Ireland’s Cian O’Connor placed fifth with a clear round and a time of 40.239 seconds.
Hecart has gotten the ride on Oceane de Nantuel, a 10-year-old Selle Francais mare by Diamant de Semilly x Quidam de Revel, since her father Michel was injured. “She jumped the $500,000 (grand prix at the FTI WEF) with my father last year and she went clear. My father got hurt this year; he had a bad fall, so I’m riding the horses,” she explained. “It’s the third class that I’ve done with her. She is ready!”
After last year’s success, Oceane de Nantuel competed in grand prix classes in Europe with Michel Hecart. She returned to the United States in November, and started back up for competition two weeks ago. Hecart plans to move up to the grand prix classes with her. Marie Hecart said of the mare, “She feels good. She likes when you ride with a nice rhythm all the time. She has good balance and is really careful. She really likes the pace, which helps in the jump-off.”
Hecart has made her home base in Wellington, FL, and doesn’t currently have plans to show in Europe. “If I have a horse to jump the big, big classes, I will go to Europe, but I don’t have any plans right now. I like living here. The show is nice and it’s good for the competition,” she remarked.
This is Hecart’s first win this year at the FTI WEF, and she is happy to have recorded it early in the circuit. “It feels good! I’ve been doing many rounds with one down, so it is nice to put it all together,” she said.
Final Results: $25,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic
Horses in bold are graduates of the Young Jumper Championships
1 OCEANE DE NANTUEL 2002 SF m. Diamant de Semilly x Quidam de Revel
MARIE HECART, ECURIE MICHEL HECART: 0/0/37.552
2 UNIQUE 2001 KWPN g. Indoctro x Voltaire
NICK SKELTON, BEVERLEY WIDDOWSON: 0/0/38.025
3 LANSDOWNE 2003 KWPN s. Guidam x Wolfgang
YANN CANDELE, SUSAN GRANGE: 0/0/39.783
4 WOODSTOCK O 2003 KWPN g. Hors la Loi II x Ferro
LAURA KRAUT, JOAN KALMAN: 0/0/40.147
5 KEC ALLIGATOR ALLEY 2002 ISH g. Aldatus Z x Clover Hill
CIAN O’CONNOR, SINEAD & OONAGH KENNEDY: 0/0/40.239
6 RAMINA 2001 HOL m. Corrado I x Maikater I
KEVIN BABINGTON, ALEXANDRA BARTLETT: 0/0/40.898
7 OSIRIS 1996 KWPN g. Polydox x Lucky Boy xx
GEMMA PATERNOSTER, GEMMA PATERNOSTER: 0/0/41.439
8 LIGIST 2000 SWB g. Levantos II x Robin Z 723
REED KESSLER, REED KESSLER: 0/4/37.941
9 APACHE 1999 g. Mezcalero (Frontal) x Unknown. Bred in USA by Doug White.
ASHLEE BOND, LITTLE VALLEY FARM: 0/8/42.408
10 KAID DU RY 1998 SF g. Breet Saint Clair x Royal Ardent
ALISE OKEN, HI HOPES FARM LLC: 4/77.668
11 RADIO CITY HOL m. Liatos x Carthago
VICTOR AMAYA, GOTHAM ENTERPRIZES: 4/77.829
12 NOUGAT DU VALLET 2001 SF g. Scherif d’Elle x Spahir d’Elle
KATHERINE DINAN, GRANT ROAD PARTNERS: 4/78.723